Skate roller assembly



Nov. 11, 1952 LEE 2,617,688

SKATE ROLLER ASSEMBLY Filed March 22, 1948 mnnnmnnnnnnnnnnnmama I lg Inventor Herbert A. Lee V aadywayfiMg Patented Nov. 11, @952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,617,688 f c t SKATE ROLLER ASSEMBLY Herbert A. Lee, GrandJunction, 0010.; Application March 22, 1948, Serial No. 16,38

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in roller assemblies for roller skates, and the principal object of the invention is to eliminate lateral protuberances on the outside of the roller assembly, which protuberances, conventionally present, detract from the appearance from the skate as a Whole, and constitute a potential hazard when one skate is moved past another, that is to say, such protuberances frequently strike one another or become otherwise entangled. I f

The primary object of eliminating the protuberances is achieved in the instant invention by pro viding a skate roller assembly wherein one of the inner ball races is rigidly secured to or formed integrally with the axle on which the roller assembly rotates, this inner ball race also functioning for retaining the roller in position and being disposed within a recess with which said roller is formed, so that it does not protrude laterally to any great extent beyond the side surface of the roller.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of convenient means for adjusting the roller assembly on the truck of the skate.

An additional feature of the invention resides in the provision of a skate roller assembly which is simple in construction, which will not easily become damaged and which will readily lend itself to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a roller skate wherein the invention is embodied, the axle and roller assembly on one side of the skate being illustrated in cross section, so as to reveal the construction of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the subject shown in Figure l, with the skate partially broken away, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a screw threaded axle and one of the inner ball race members used in the invention, together with the rollers shown in phantom lines.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the reference character I0 designates a conventional roller skate provided on the under- 2 surface thereof with a pair of non-rotatable resiliently mounted trucks, one of which is illustrated at l2 i I The resilient mounting of these trucks is of a conventional character, including a rubber bushing I4, but since it is irrelevant to the instant invention, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

The essence of novelty in the invention resides in the formation of roller assemblies designated generally by the reference character l6, these being mounted at the ends of the trucks l2, but since their construction is substantially similar, a description of one will suffice for all.

Each of the roller assemblies l6 consists of a roller I8 formed in its opposite sides with circular recesses constituting what may be referred to as outer ball races 20, the roller l8 also being equipped with a central or axial bore 22, as will be clearly apparent.

A screw-threaded axle 24 extends freely through the bore 22 of the roller l 8, one end portion of this axle being threaded into a complementarily screw-threaded bore 26 formed in the end of the aforementioned truck 12.

What may be referred to as an inner ball race member 28 is rigidly secured to or formed integrally with the remaining end portion of the axle 24, while a further, inner ball race member 30, formed with a screw-threaded bore 32, is adjustably positioned on an intermediate portion of the axle 24.

It is to be noted that the inner ball race members 28, 30 are disposed within the recesses of the roller I8 constituting the outer ball races 20, and sets of suitable anti-friction elements, such as for example, balls 34 are interposed between the inner and outer races 28, 30 and 20 respectively, as will be clearly understood.

The inner ball race members 28, 30 may, if desired, be formed integrally with polygonal portions 36, 38 respectively, so as to facilitate threading of the axle 24 in the bore 26 and also, adjustment of the race member 30 on the axle 24.

The portion 38 of the race member 3|] may be locked against the adjacent end surface 40 of the truck l2, whereby the entire roller assembly is mounted upon the truck, but it should be noted that the race member 30 may be adjusted upon the axle shaft 24, so as to vary the clearance or play within the roller assembly and thereby assure its proper rotation.

It is to be noted that by virtue of the construction above described, the ball race member 28, being disposed within the recess 20 of the roller I8 does not project to any great extent beyond the side surface 42 of the roller, so as to cause undue protuberances such as are present in conventional roller assemblies wherein the axle 24 extends outwardly past the inner ball ra-ce member 28 and carries a lock washer and a nut for the purpose of adjusting and retaining the conventional roller assembly in position on the truck.

Needless to say, the recesses forming the outer ball races 20 in the roller l8 may be of sufficient depth as to fully accommodate the race members 28, 30 including their portions 36, 38 respectively, in which instance, the portion 36 of the member 28 would be fiush with the side surface 42 of the roller.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment-of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

In a roller skate, the combination of a roller truck including a transverse member provided in its outer end portion with an axial screwthreaded bore, a screw-threaded axle having its inner end adjustably secured in said bore and projecting outwardly therefrom, a tool engaging head on the outer end of said axle, said head being multi-sided for engagement with an adjusting tool, a polygonal nut threaded on the axle and locked against the outer end of the transverse member, a roller rotatable on the axle between the head and the nut, bearing races on the opposite sides of the roller and on the adjacent sides of the head and the nut said polygonal nut extending axially from the side of the roller, whereby the same may be easily engaged with an adjusting tool inserted between the roller and the transverse member, and sets of anti-friction elements positioned in said races.

HERBERT A. LEE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 610,923 Scheeren Sept. 20, 1898 856,634 Hansen June 11, 1907 1,446,463 Hoffman Feb. 27, 1923 1,566,609 Larsen Dec. 22, 1925 1,743,757 Chestnutt Jan. 14, 1930 1,751,795 Dekome Mar. 25, 1930 1,975,661 Powell Oct. 2, 1934 2,316,498 Biczak Apr. 13, 1943 

